Mass MoCA Installing Wood Pellet Heating System| 02:29PM / Tuesday, December 20, 2011 | |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Biomass Commodities Corp. is installing a wood-pellet heating boiler system at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art slated to come online this January.
"The project allows Mass MoCA to diversify a nice portion of its heating to a renewable fuel that is produced locally," said Averill Cook, president and founder of Biomass. "Much of the raw material comes from our region as an otherwise waste byproduct of high quality timber production."
This installation is the first of its kind in Berkshire County, according to Cook. It will allow the museum to utilize an existing ash silo from the former mill's old coal plant for its wood pellet storage. The high-efficiency boiler is sized for Mass MoCA's internal needs.
"Energy use is a fascinating lens through which to examine the history of this campus's tenants," said Mass MoCA Director Joseph Thompson. "From Arnold Printworks reliance on coal in the late 19th century to Sprague's conversion to oil in the 20th century to our utilization of natural gas in more recent years, the ups and downs of the tenants of this great factory campus have always been closely tied to energy."
Thompson said adding the boiler to the diversified mix of alternative energy technologies at the museum helps the bottom line and substantially reduces our carbon footprint.
"Next, we hope to vastly increase the size of our photovoltaic installation, which was installed as a prototype in 2009 as part of whole series of energy conservation and alternative energy measures. We're making progress."
Biomass Commodities will supervise the installation of the boiler and combustion equipment, which are made in the USA and fully computer controlled. The SolaGen HDF-WC uses a Burnham Boiler, a leader in the North American heating industry with direct ties to the local area. Adams Plumbing & Heating will execute on the mechanical installation for this equipment designed by Cannon Design out of Boston. Wood pellets will be sourced from a regional producer New England Wood Pellet, and delivered by Biomass Commodities Corp.
Read the full press release on PRWeb.
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